GitHub Releases Windows Desktop App

GitHub, the web-based code hosting service, announced its first ever release for Windows. GitHub For Windows, as the application is being called, is available as a free download for devices running XP, Vista, Windows 7 and the yet-to-be-released 8.

To-date, developers using Windows have had to rely on clients like TortoiseGit or SmartGit to run GitHub, which has long been available for Mac and Linux.

The company is hoping to target enterprise developers with this release and is offering support for all GitHub Enterprise installations. The move makes sense, as Windows tools are among the most common in the realm of enterprise development.

"Our philosophy is that we wanted [the desktop app] to be by Windows developers for Windows developers", GitHub co-founder Chris Wanstrath told VentureBeat, explaining that the company intends to maintain its Windows app just as well as it has its version for Mac.